March 8, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

The outflow of refugees from Ukraine has reached two million, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

Speaking to French radio station France Inter on Tuesday, Grandi called the milestone a "terrifying" number.

Nearly all the refugees are women, children, and elderly people, according to Grandi, who said he hadn't seen such a preponderance in his entire career.

"It's a very specified population. It's significant that on International Women's Day, men make war and women pay the consequences," Grandi continued.

He said most of the refugees have traveled to Poland, Moldova, and other neighboring countries, adding most move towards "where they have connections, family."

"What we fear is a second wave of persons who have a good deal less resources and connections and who will be much more vulnerable," Grandi warned.

Romania has taken in 281,000 refugees since the start of the conflict in Ukraine, the Romanian Border Police told CNN on Tuesday, although 208,000 of those have already departed the country.

The border police did not specify where the refugees were going after leaving Romania.

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CNN's Miguel Marquez in Bucharest contributed reporting to this post.

The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church said gay pride parades were part of the reason for the war in Ukraine.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, a long-time ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on Sunday that the conflict in Donbas is about “a fundamental rejection of the so-called values that are offered today by those who claim world power.”

The “test” of which side you are on, said Kirill, is whether your country is willing to hold gay pride parades.

“In order to enter the club of those countries, it is necessary to hold a gay pride parade. Not to make a political statement, ‘we are with you,’ not to sign any agreements, but to hold a gay parade. And we know how people resist these demands and how this resistance is suppressed by force,” Kirill said during a sermon in Moscow.

Kirill categorized the war as a struggle of “metaphysical significance,” for humanity to follow God’s laws.

“What is happening today in the sphere of international relations has not only political significance. We are talking about something different and much more important than politics. We are talking about human salvation,” he said. 

“If we see violations of [God’s] law, we will never put up with those who destroy this law, blurring the line between holiness and sin, and even more so with those who promote sin as an example or as one of the models of human behavior,” Kirill said.

“Around this topic today there is a real war,” he said.

Patriarch Kirill is a major religious figure in Russia, where the Russian Orthodox religion is considered an integral part of Russian identity. He has come under pressure from within his own church since the beginning of the war to denounce Putin’s aggression, but his public statements so far have failed to do that. On the contrary, Kirill’s language has lent support to Putin’s vision of a spiritual and temporal Russian empire.

Shell said on Tuesday it intends to stop purchasing Russian crude oil and plans to completely withdraw from the Russian energy industry.

The energy giant says it plans “to withdraw from its involvement in all Russian hydrocarbons, including crude oil, petroleum products, gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) in a phased manner, aligned with new government guidance.”

It added in a press release that as an immediate first step it will stop all spot purchases of Russian crude oil and will shut “its service stations, aviation fuels and lubricants operations in Russia.”

"As we have already said, we will commit profits from the limited, remaining amounts of Russian oil we will process to a dedicated fund. We will work with aid partners and humanitarian agencies over the coming days and weeks to determine where the monies from this fund are best placed to alleviate the terrible consequences that this war is having on the people of Ukraine."

Van Beurden added that “threats today to stop pipeline flows to Europe further illustrate the difficult choices and potential consequences we face as we try to do this.”

Shell last week said it will exit its equity partnerships with Russian state energy giant Gazprom in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The news comes a day after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said coordinated energy sanctions against Moscow, including a ban on Russian oil, are still "very much on the table."

Speaking during a Monday news conference alongside his Dutch and Canadian counterparts in London, Johnson said it was the "right thing" to move away from Russian hydrocarbons.  

On Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN's Jake Tapper that the United States is “now talking to our European allies and partners to look at a coordinated way” to ban Russian oil. 

Responding to a question as to whether Blinken was wrong in his remarks, Johnson replied, "No, I don't think Tony Blinken was wrong."  

Countries need to consider how to move away from Russian hydrocarbons "as fast as possible," Johnson added.  

Johnson continued, "We're going to work together on making sure that we all have the substitutes and the supplies that we need."

The death toll from an overnight strike in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy has now risen to 21 civilians, according to the Regional Prosecutor's Office.

The office confirmed "the death of 19 adults and 2 children as a result of an air strike in the city."

"As a result of the bombing, one house was completely destroyed, 16 were partially destroyed. As of 7:00, the bodies of 21 people, including 2 children, were found during an inspection," it added.

Ukraine and Russia agreed Tuesday to one evacuation corridor in Sumy, which has seen sustained Russian attacks and airstrikes in recent days.

Around 700 Indian students stuck in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy are en route to the town of Poltava, around 108 miles away, according to the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.

The news comes as Ukraine and Russia agreed Tuesday to one evacuation corridor in Sumy, which has seen sustained Russian attacks and airstrikes in recent days.

“Happy to inform that we have been able to move out all Indian students from Sumy. They are currently en route to Poltava, from where they will board trains to western Ukraine,” ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi tweeted Tuesday evening local time, adding that flights were being prepared to repatriate them.

The news comes as Ukraine and Russia agreed Tuesday to one evacuation corridor in Sumy, which has seen sustained Russian attacks and airstrikes in recent days.

“694 Indian students were remaining in Sumy last night, all have now left for Poltava (Ukraine) in buses,” Press Trust of India, a news agency owned by multiple Indian newspapers, tweeted Tuesday citing Hardeep Singh Puri, an Indian cabinet minister.

Earlier Monday, the Indian embassy had attempted to evacuate students in buses, however the efforts were suspended after Russian airstrikes continued to hit evacuation corridors. 

The embassy also said Tuesday that 75 Indian sailors stranded in Mykolaiv Port had been evacuated.

The United Kingdom has warned Poland that sending fighter jets to Ukraine may put them into the "direct line of fire" from Russia. 

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told Sky News on Tuesday that whilst the UK would "support" a Polish choice to supply Ukraine with fighter jets the country should be aware of Russia's warning of "retribution." 

The news comes a day after the US Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith told CNN Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour that US officials are discussing with the Polish government the potential for Poland to send MiG-29 Soviet-era fighter jets in support of Ukraine. Smith emphasized that this is a "sovereign decision" for Poland take. 

"Poland borders a number of countries such as Belarus, that is an active participant with Russia. And Poland will understand that the choices are not only directly helping Ukraine, which is a good thing, but also may bring them into direct line of fire from countries such as Russia or Belarus," Wallace said. 

He added that it wasn't for him to "second guess" Poland's choice, remarking that there is a "really big responsibility on the shoulders of the President of Poland and the defense minister."

"It is for me as a fellow NATO member to say that we will support Poland and whatever choice she makes," Wallace concluded.

So far, NATO has remained firm in its unwillingness to get directly involved in the conflict beyond supporting Ukraine's resistance to an invasion that is killing innocent civilians, while US officials have made clear that American troops won't engage directly with Russian forces.

Both parties on Friday also pushed back against calls for a no-fly zone to be set up in Ukraine, warning that it could lead to a "full-fledged war in Europe" and saying they're doing what they can to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia's invasion.

CNN's Jeremy Herb and Paul LeBlanc contributed reporting to this post.

Ukrainian athletes showed support for their compatriots at the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, after securing a clean sweep of medals in two more para biathlon events at the games on Tuesday.

Iryna Bui led the first Ukrainian podium sweep of the day in the women's middle distance standing, with Oleksandra Kononova and Liudmyla Liashenko earning silver and bronze, respectively.

"I was preparing for this special moment for 12 years. It was my aim and I've been training really hard all of this time," Bui said of winning her first Paralympic medal at her third Games.

"But I came here with another thought. The whole world knows what's going on in Ukraine at the moment and now I know that I have a mission here I represent the whole country. The whole country is behind me and with this medal I will just one more time promote the Ukrainian nation."

And yet another Ukraine podium sweep was to follow just a few hours later in the men’s middle distance vision impaired.

Vitaliy Lukyanenko won comfortably and in the process secured the eighth Paralympic gold medal of his career, with Anatoliy Kovalevskyi and Dmytro Suiarko crossing the line to win silver and bronze, respectively. 

At 43-years-old, Lukyanenko becomes the most successful male biathlete of all-time.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate our beloved women on International Women's Day. I want to wish them a peaceful sky over their heads, and to be happy in life and not to cry like they do now in Ukraine," he said.

Iaroslav Reshetynskyi and Oleksandr Kazik followed Lukyanenko, Kovalevskyi and Suiarko as Ukrainian athletes secured the top five positions in the race. 

It was Ukraine’s third para biathlon podium sweep at the Beijing Paralympics after Lukyanenko, Kazik and Suiarko secured the top three spots in the men's vision impaired sprint on Saturday. Ukraine so far has 6 gold medals at the Games, two behind China.

Ukrainian officials say the planned evacuation route to help civilians leave the northeastern city of Sumy, which has experienced sustained Russian attacks and airstrikes in recent days, is now operating.

The corridor is between Sumy and the Ukrainian city of Poltava -- a journey of just under 100 miles.

"This route has been agreed by the Ukrainian and Russian sides," Dmytro Lunin, head of the Poltava regional administration, said on his Telegram channel.

"The ceasefire regime is from 09:00 till 21:00 Kyiv time. Ukraine adheres to it," he said.

Lunin added that several dozen buses have already left Lokhvytsia, a city southwest of Sumy, to pick up civilians, and that 20 tons of humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, has also been sent.

Some background: The announcement of an evacuation corridor in Sumy comes after a Russian airstrike on an apartment building in the city killed nine civilians, including two children, according to the State Emergency Services (SES) in Ukraine.

On Monday, Ukrainian officials rejected Russia's unilateral proposal for evacuation corridors for civilians as an unacceptable non-starter, as most of the routes lead to Russia or its staunch ally Belarus and would require people to travel through active areas of fighting.

Several previous attempts to evacuate civilians failed earlier this week, with Western leaders accusing Russian forces of continuing to target pre-approved safe routes.

On Sunday, a Russian strike hit an evacuation crossing point outside Kyiv, killing eight people including two children trying to flee.

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Oleksandr Markushyn, the mayor of the Kyiv suburb of Irpin, says he has rejected a demand from Russian forces to surrender the town.

In a Telegram account on Tuesday, Markushyn said he had received a threat on his "life and health and demanding for the complete surrender of Irpin" the previous day.

"I have a counter-offer to the occupiers to leave [the] Irpin community within 24 hours and save the lives and health of several thousand Russian conscripts, whose mother, sister, daughter, grandmother and partner are waiting for them at home."

The Russians declared a ceasefire for the Kyiv area on Tuesday. It's unclear yet whether a cessation of hostilities is being held around the Ukrainian capital.

The UK defense ministry on Monday accused Russian forces of targeting evacuation corridors and killing “several civilians” trying to evacuate Irpin, according to the latest intelligence assessment released publicly by the department.

The ministry noted that due to heavy fighting Irpin has been without heat, water, or electricity for several days.

Eight civilians were killed in the midst of an evacuation of the town, Mayor Markushyn said in a statement on Telegram Sunday.

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